"It is a difficult thing,
indeed, to get an arts conference up and running in a small community, and I
know of no other persons who have done it quite so well. "

from former U.S.
Poet Laureate Ted Kooser

"It is not
easy to trigger and then support a grassroots enthusiasm for poetry, but
that is exactly what Alan Cohen has done in southeastern Ohio. The
audiences that come to his events are truly amazing, an eclectic and
deeply healthy mixture of cultures, neighborhoods, and all manner of
subgroups. It is a new kind of celebration he has called together in
rural Ohio. His immense love for the natural world, for the American
free verse tradition, and for the great poets from all down through the
world's history, keeps the juices percolating in this lovely part of the
country. May he and the Power of Poetry continue to thrive!"